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Wednesday, 7 December 2005

God speaks a free and loving “Yes” to Jesus Christ; the event of this “Yes” is God’s trinitarian life, and its corresponding echo is a creative and redemptive “Yes” to humanity, so that God’s relationship to humanity is an echo and an analogy of God’s relationship to Jesus Christ.

That's bad because Jesus didn't say he would draw "all men without exception." He said he would draw all men. Considering that Jesus is recorded as saying only 6 Chapters earlier "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day." A few verses earlier he says this also, "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."

So he states that those who are drawn and those who believe both will be raised on the last day. Therefore it follows that not all will be drawn otherwise all would also believe.

So based on that information the idea of Universalism is incorrect. And the interpretation of "all" in John 12:32 is more likely refering to all kinds of men as opposed to just Jews.

Barth claimed that none of us are able to place limits on the scope of the grace and mercy of God. Who is to say that God has withheld his mercy from some and given it to others. If we truly see God as a merciful God and abounding in grace then it follows that he wishes for the salvation of all of His creation. Barth believes that God will, in the end, redeem His entire creation. He refrains from saying this precisely as to do so would define God when, in fact, we cannot know with certainty the purposes of God.